Musings and Amusings

I love my bed and I love snoozing – for those of you who feel the same way it is now official – sleep is good for your brain.

Until the mid 50’s, it was assumed that when we slept our brains shut down but are now familiar with the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle evident in your sleeping patterns – the brain waves produced during this period look similar to those produced when are awake.

In fact the effects of sleep on memory are impressive. It appears that while we are asleep our brain is processing the day’s data. It sorts through recently formed memories, stabilising, copying and filing them so that they will be more useful allowing us to recall them for use more effectively the next morning.

Sleep not only strengthens memories, it seems likely that the brain sifts through memories identifying what is worth keeping and selectively maintaining or enhancing these aspects of memory. When a picture contains both emotional and unemotional elements sleep can save the important emotional parts and let the less relevant background drift away – perhaps helping us find the meaning in what we have learned.

It’s great when the latest scientific findings hear out the old adages – if you have a problem – sleep on it!